Chicken Brine Recipe

This chicken brine recipe is made with lemons, honey, fresh herbs and spices, and produces a juicy tender chicken every time! A foolproof way for succulent and flavorful roasted, smoked or fried chicken.

If you’ve never had a brined chicken before, you’re missing out! It takes just minutes to make a chicken brine, but the end result is nothing short of fabulous. Serve your brined chicken with glazed carrots and rice pilaf for a complete meal.

I always get anxious about cooking large items of poultry like whole chickens and turkeys. It’s just so easy to either overcook the birds until they’re dry as a bone, or undercook them so they’re raw in the middle. This chicken brine infuses a whole chicken with tons of flavor and helps to keep it from drying out in the oven. Brined chicken is the best chicken you’ll ever eat!

How do you make chicken brine?

To make chicken brine, you’ll need salt, honey, lemons, herbs, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Everything goes into a large pot with water and is simmered until the salt has dissolved. After the brine has cooled to room temperature, you can add your chicken to the pot, then refrigerate it until you’re ready to make dinner.

Why do you brine chicken?

Chicken is a naturally lean type of meat which mean it’s prone to drying out. When a chicken is placed into brine, it absorbs some of the brine which helps to both keep it moist and also to season it all the way through. When you’re working with a brined chicken, even if you overcook it a bit, it should still come out tender and juicy.

How long do you brine chicken?

A whole chicken should be submerged in brine for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours. Do not go past the 24 hour mark, as your chicken may be overly salty if it sits in the brine for too long. If you’re looking to brine bone-in chicken pieces such as chicken thighs, drumsticks or breasts, you’ll want to soak them for about 4 hours. If you’re working with boneless chicken pieces, you can brine them for about 2 hours.

Chicken Brine Tips

• This recipe tends to work well with smaller chickens in the 3-5 pound range, simply because you’re more likely to have a deep pot to brine a smaller chicken in. If your chicken is larger than the biggest pot in your house, you can buy brining bags designed to brine larger chickens and turkeys.
• Be sure to use kosher salt, do not use table salt in this recipe. Table salt measures differently than kosher salt and your chicken will be too salty with table salt.
• Feel free to mix up the flavorings to fit your preferences. You can try orange instead of lemon, brown sugar instead of honey, add dried chiles for a little spice, or use fresh sage instead of thyme.

How do you cook brined chicken?

Brined chicken can be cooked in any way that you’d normally cook a whole chicken. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Herbs
• Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
• Fried Chicken

Once you try a brined chicken, you’ll be hooked! Everyone will think you’re a gourmet chef when they get a taste of your perfectly cooked chicken. While making a chicken brine is an extra step in the cooking process, it’s totally worth it in my opinion.

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5 from 19 votes

Chicken Brine Recipe

This chicken brine recipe is made with lemons, honey, fresh herbs and spices, and produces a juicy tender chicken every time! A foolproof way for succulent and flavorful roasted, smoked or fried chicken.

Course Main

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken brine

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Cool Time 30 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 185kcal

Author Sara Welch

Ingredients

• 8 cups water
• 1/2 cup kosher salt do not use table salt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 5 cloves of garlic smashed and peeled
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 sprigs fresh parsley
• 2 lemons sliced
• 4 lb whole chicken

Instructions

• Place the water, salt, honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, parsley and lemons in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
• Cook for 3-4 minutes or until salt has dissolved.
• Turn off the heat and cool completely.
• Add the chicken to the cooled brine. Make sure the chicken is completely submerged.
• Cover the pot and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
• Remove the chicken from the brine and rinse with cool water; pat dry with paper towels. Proceed with roasting, smoking or frying the chicken.

Notes

Nutritional information includes the whole chicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 775mg | Potassium: 176mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Vitamin C: 11.5mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg